Roadway



A. T. NEWELL.

ROADWAY.

APPLICATION FILED 05c. 16, 1921.

Patented Nov. 14, 1922.

1 road bed under all conditions.

' ditions.

Patented Nov ld, 1922.

" E N T F l ROADWAY.

Application filed December 16, 1921.

To all whom it may concern Be it known that I, ALFRED T. NnwnLL, a'

citizen'of the United States, residingat Birmingham, in thecounty of Jefferson and State of Alabama, have invented certain newand useful Improvements inRoadways, of which the following is a specification.

Thisinvention is an improvement on or modification of the roadway shown and described in my pending applications Serial Numbers 47237 9 and 473698, the present invention being directed to certain novelties construction with respect to the supports for the slabs which form the roadway, and with respect to the formation of drains for relieving the road bedof water.

In cuts, especially or in springy ground there is a tendency for water to seep up through the bed and collect under the concrete surface. My invention isintended to takecare of this, and to maintain a dry When the water under concrete freezes it will lift and crack the paving, but a dry bed will'not freeze, and by means of this invention a dry bed'will be maintained under all con- The present invention further provides a support at the middle of the road for the concrete slabs which meet at the middle line, said support consisting of elongated concrete blocks on which the inner ends of the slabs rest when they are laid in position.

One form of the. invention is illustrated in the accompanying drawings in which Fig. l. is a top plan of the roadway. Fig. 2 is a section across the-same.

.The surface of the roadis made of preformed concrete slabs, in substantially the same manner as indicated in-my pending applications above referred to, these'slabs being cast at a central plant and transported to the place where they are laid. The advantages attending this method of constructionl are described in said applications, and need not be repeated here. In the drawings the slabs are indicated at 6 and are substantially flat on the bottom, the top being curved or cambered to form the crown of the road. Two rows of these slabs are laid adjoining, and they preferably meet on oblique lines 7 so as to avoid straight joints. At their inner ends the slabs meet on a middle line 8 at the middle of the road- These joints may be closed by tar or similar material poured into the same when the Serial No. 522,807.

slabs are laid. A at the outer edge of the a continuous surface gutter.

gutter 9 may be formed slabs, to produce In performing the present invention I lay a succession'of elongated blocks 10, preferably cast of concrete, along the middle of line of the road, into the road bed flush therewith.

11 until their port the same at the middle joint vent collapse of these blocks being sunk tops are The inner ends of the slabs 6 rest on these blocks, which thus supand pre- The blocks are preferably made long enough to extend completely under one slab and half way under ,the next, as'shown in Fig. 1, so that the joints between the blocks are bridged by the dislocation of one block will not result in the disturbance of others.

The slabs are reinforced by ro the same; and are cut off as of the reinforcing ends of the slabs and the necessarily ds set in at their meeting corners thev indicated atll so that loops rods 12 are exposed at said corners, as shown at 13, and to tie the slabs and the blocks 10 together I or eyes 14. in the set loops blocks 10 in proper position to register with the openings formed by the cut-off corners 11 of the slabs.

when the slabs are set in place, 15 through the and through the all four slabs together and also same to the blocks 10. After th grout or fluid cement is poured opening at the meeting corners casing whole forming bond which unites the parts.

Thebottoms of the slabs 6 vided with parallel grooves from the inner ends of the slabs to ends, practically as described entitled application.

Then, I pass a loops 13 eyes 14. Thereby tieing tieing the 1s is done into the thereby enthe ties and closing the opening, the a very rigid and eflicient also pro- 17 extending the outer in my above Furthermore, I pro vide a, groove 18 which communicates with the grooves 17,

and which extends along parallel to the outer edge of the slab. The

grooves 18 of with each other which I place a slabs or blocks 19, preferably located inches from the outer edge of the as stated, the cross 'rooves 17 open longitudinal drain 18. lVater seeping up through the bed 11 will grooves 17 and flowing outwardly t succession of flatthe respective slabs match and form a channel under concrete the whole forming a drain under the gutter 9, a few slab, and into this therefore enter the herefrom the crown of the road. i.

i into a gutter.

will empty into the drain groove 18, by which it will be conducted a suitable distance, or to a low point in the roadway, where it may be discharged into a culvert beneath or laterally through a drain pipe The grooves 17 and 18 furthermore form an, air space under the slabs 6, which will assist in drying out the bed and maintain a relatively dry body of air between the surfacing of the bed.- The grooves referred to make unnecessary the construction and location of s'eparate'drains in the bed-,and since all the blocks are provide'diwi th these grooves, a practically con "tin'uous drainwill'be"produced under all portions of the road surfacing. The slabs will be symmetrically constructed so that the grooves on the "slabs at one side of the road will .i 'e'gister with the grooves in the slabs at the other side, thereby giving a practically continuous groove from side to side.

Furthermore, I may provide at each side of the middle'l-ine of the roadway a series of slabs 20' setin theroad bedlend to end, flush withv the top of the bed, the ribs between the grooves resting upon these slabs, which provide an additional support for the slabs andprevent the ribs sinkin'ginto the road bedtoo far; The slabs 20 may conveniently be located along lines corresponding substantially'with the lines of travel oi the wheelsioi' vehicles following the middle of the road. y

The invention is not limited to the particular details of the structure shown and described, Certain features may be omitted within the scope of the following claims I claim: 7 a

l; A roadway consisting of slabsthe inner ends of which meet at the middle of the road, a line of blocks'setnin the road bed under, said middle line, and bonds betweei'i the blocks andthe ends. of the slabs, said bonds including ties connecting the blocks and the ends of the slabs. r

2. A roadway consisting of slabs the inner ends of which. meet at the middle of the road,- a line of blocks set in the road bed under said middle line, and bonds between the blocks and the ends of the slabs, said slabs having reinforcing rods exposed at their meeting :ends,- and said blocks having eyes attached thereto, and ties connecting said eyes and rods.

3. A roadway consisting of concrete slabs laid in rows side by side and meeting on a longitudinal hne, the corners of said slabs being recessed and provided with reinforcment loops exposed at said recesses, a row ofgrooves the bottom thereof and a longitudinal groove with which. the cross grooves c 'mn'iuniciate', said longitudinal groove forming drain extending lengthwiseof the roadwayunder the slabs, and a series-of slabslaid in the road bed under the longitudinal groovesand forming-the bottom of the drain. V

6. A roadway comprising successionof slabs, each. slab having in the bottom thereof a plurality of transverse groovesextending from-the inner edge of the slab toward the outer or gutter' edges and a longitudinal groove extending in the bottoinxof the slab adjacent thegutter edge thereof, said longitudinal groove registeringwith the grooves of adjacent slabs and communicating with the transversegrooves and forming adr'ain extending lengthwise under the gutter edge of the slabs.-

7. A roadway comprising a succession of slabs, each slab havingin the bottom thereof a plurality of transverse grooves extending from the inner edge of the slab toward; the outer .or gutter edge and a longitudinal groove extending in thebottom of the slab achacent the gutter'edge thereof, said longi tudinal groove registering with the grooves of adjacent-slabs. and communicating with the transversegrooves and forming a drain extending lengthwise :under the gutter edge. of the -slabs,and a succession of flat slabs set in the road bed under said longitudinal grooves and forming the bottom of the drain.

In testimony whereof, I aflixmy signature.-

ALFRED T. NEWELL, 

